Walking Dead: Salvation
by Jon Brae
Summary: Joel and Hannah are brought to Haven, a survivor sanctuary with electricity, food and safety. Danger still exists beyond the reach of the walkers. Welcomed by the charismatic and controlling leader known as 'The Captain', they enlist the help of an unlikely ally in figuring out the cause of a mysterious illness sweeping through the population. [RATED 'T' FOR MILD LANGUAGE/GORE]
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER**** 1**

They could hear the screams before they made it into the clearing. Running into the open they saw a man being overwhelmed by a pack of walkers. They were standing on some railroad tracks. The sun glinted off the mans knife as he buried the blade into another skull. Joel knew there was too many of them and the man would soon be overwhelmed. He gave a knowing look to Hannah.

"We only have four rounds left," Hannah said. She loaded the rifle.

Joel pulled a machete from his back. "I know. Just make sure I don't get flanked."

"What if we're too late?"

"Just cover me."

Joel ran towards the pack with Hannah following behind and with a crunch he drove the machete into one of their heads and blood splattered on his shirt. His machete ripped through another head. A few other walkers took notice and turned around. One of them caught a machete through an eye socket and slumped to the ground. A shot rang out and a walker fell at Joel's feet behind him. He turned and smiled at Hannah.

"Look out!" she said.

A walker lunged at Joel, knocking him to the ground, its mouth gnashing and biting as Joel held its throat. His thumb ripped through the rotting flesh and putrified juices dripped onto his face. Hannah raised her rifle and took aim, slowly squeezing the trigger. A knife lodged into the top of the walkers skull as the unknown man was now standing over Joel, dripping with sweat. Hannah released the trigger.

There was silence. The wind swept through the trees and birds twitted away in the distance. Hannah kept her rifle pointed toward the man. "Joel," she said, "you alright?"

He stood up and bent forward, placing his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He had been in a few close scrapes with the walkers before, but that was back when he was with a group. Now the only person in this world who had his back was Hannah and they had only been together for a week. He was thankful it worked out. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, looking at the man who was now covered in blood. He was older than either of them. He looked at least into his fifties possibly early sixties but he his muscular frame hinted that he wasn't afraid of hard labor. His grey beard was scraggly and his button-down shirt was torn in a few places. "Are you alright, man?" Joel said. "Were you bit?"

The man winced and rubbed his shoulder. "No, I'm good." He motioned to Hannah. "Is she going to shoot me?"

Hannah had kept her rifle ready, now trained directly at the man. The walkers were dangerous but they were just a nuisance compared to desperate people with nothing to lose.

"Depends," Joel said. "Give us a good reason why we shouldn't shoot you. Maybe you deserve to be shot. People these days fall in one of two categories. Either they're good folk looking to survive with other like-minded good folk..." Joel squinted into the noon sun. "Or they're bad folk looking to survive on the blood of good folk."

"I'm good folk," said the man. "Name's Jessie. I'm out here doing the Lord's work. Marking the path to salvation."

"Lord's work?" Joel said. "I don't know if you've looked around lately, but the Lord aint doing much for anybody and don't talk to me about salvation, cause there isn't anywhere you can go where you won't get eaten by walkers or killed by your fellow man." He turned to Hannah. "...or woman."

Jessie stepped forward. Hannah tightened her grip on the rifle. He spoke very softly as if what he was about to say was blasphemous. "There is a place where all who arrive..." He fixed his gaze on Hannah. "...survive. A place where all are safe and everyone is welcome. A community for the new age."

"Where?" Joel said.

"Precisely. That is God's plan for me. See, over there..." He pointed to a railroad switch that had a sign attached to it with some wire. It looked like an old railroad map with the word 'TERMINUS' written in large letters above it.

"You're putting up directions to this place?" Hannah said.

"God requires me to show those who are lost the path to salvation."

Joel wiped the blood from his machete. "Oh yeah? Does he require you to die out here all by yourself with just that tiny knife? Didn't look like God was helping you out back there."

Jessie smiled, showing off his yellow teeth and the deep wrinkles in his skin. "Who do you think brought you two?"

Joel sheathed his knife on his back and nodded at Hannah. She lowered the rifle and sat down on a fallen tree beside the tracks. Hannah had been part of a larger group before she was separated by a herd a week ago. She had a red t-shirt and ripped jeans and always had her rifle slung over her shoulder. Her skin was tan and she kept her black hair up in a pony tail. Joel wondered if she had had a family before the outbreak, but sometimes he thought she seemed too young.

She opened her canteen and poured a little on her neck before taking a drink. Joel sat next to her as she handed it to him. They watched as Jessie retrieved his knife from one of the walkers, mumbling to himself.

"You think it's for real?" Hannah said.

Joel took a drink. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. This guy doesn't seem to be firing on all cylinders. For all we know this Terminus might be all in his head and there will be nothing there."

"Or maybe he's telling the truth and there really is a safe place to stay. It's not like we'd be worse off than outrunning the walkers around here."

"Yeah well we said the same thing about the prison, didn't we? We heard it was a safe place run by good people and we lost half our group trying to get there and when we finally arrived it was just another burned-out walker nest."

"People were there, Joel. Something bad happened there. For God sakes there was a tank in the courtyard."

"Exactly. That is the world we live in now. Any place that's safe doesn't last very long. Something always happens. No one is ever going to grow old and die peacefully in their sleep anymore. Once you start thinking someplace is safe, you find out quickly how fast safe people die."

"Then lets at least make our way to some place that has a chance. I know you think it may be a small chance but if we stay in these woods, sooner or later we'll both die in these woods. There is still safety in numbers."

Joel stared at the ground as a line of ants were making their way around it.

"Look," Hannah said. "There's a town just south of here. We need more food and a place to sleep. Let's head that direction and if we decide to go with him, we will. Either way we need supplies."

"Fine," Joel said. "But if we find a good temporary location in this town, I'm not leaving, and neither should you, especially not with him."

Hannah smiled. "Why? Because you'd miss me?"

Joel tried to keep in his happiness at having Hannah with him, but he couldn't do it. "Well," he said. "I can't shoot the rifle and wrestle the walkers by myself." He stood up and walked toward Jessie, who was straightening his sign. "Jessie, you heading south?"

"Yeah, I need to return and get more signs," he said.

"So are we. Another pair of eyes is always good."

"I think that'd be fine. You never know where the will of God will lead you."

They began to walk together. Hannah looked up into the blue sky and said, "Ya know, some chocolate would be nice!"

Joel and Hannah laughed and Joel said, "And some ammunition wouldn't hurt either!"


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Joel stood with his hand on the door and motioned for Hannah to go right and Jessie to follow behind. Nodding his head in a silent count he opened the door. The flashlights pierced the darkness and they scanned the room.

"Clear!" Hannah said.

"All clear," Joel said. They had made their way into town and were checking the buildings. This was their third stop and it was a small grocery store. Coming in through the back, they made their way to the store room. Hannah jumped when she saw two bodies hanging from the ceiling, a bullet hole in each of their foreheads.

"Room's clear," Joel said. "Check those crates over in the corner, I'll see if there's anything in the cooler."

Hannah sifted through boxes. "You think one day our children won't have to see corpses around every corner?"

"Yeah, I hope so."

Jessie was still staring at the bodies. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," he said. "One day we will be able to put these people to rest."

"Jessie, help me open this cooler," Joel said, pulling at the handle. Jessie grabbed the lip around the door and pulled. "Just a little more!" Joel said, wincing and placing all his weight on the handle.

The door opened a few inches, then flew open from the weight of the two men. Joel and Jessie fell backwards into the far wall. The stench from the rotten air was followed by walkers as they rushed out of the cooler toward them.

"Move!" Joel yelled, pushing Jessie to the side. He reached for his machete but it wasn't there. Hannah had loaded her rifle and was getting ready to fire. The walkers, a man and a woman lunged toward Joel. He tried to push them back but their combined weight was squeezing him up against the wall.

"I don't have a shot!" Hannah said. "Get out of there!"

The walkers were gnashing their exposed teeth and Joel was trying not to get bit but he couldn't hold them off for long. Holding them off with his left arm, he grasped with his right hand and found an empty glass jar. He smashed the jar against the concrete wall and managed to hold onto a large piece of glass. He buried it into the head of the closest walker. Its mouth stopped moving but it was still held up by the crushing force of the male walker pushing them together. Joel pushed off the wall and forced the walker into the middle of the room. Jessie was waiting with his knife and landed a direct blow into the back of its head.

"Nice job," Joel said. He found his machete under some newspapers and placed it back in its sheath.

"We need to be more careful," Hannah said. "You won't always be so lucky."

"I'm fine. Luck is about all we have right now." His flashlight reflected off the cans of food in the cooler. "It looks like our luck is changing."

They gathered up the cans and decided to find a place to sleep for the night. There was a small post office in the town that had a rear delivery area that was completely surrounded by a chain fence. Joel secured the fence and made a fire to heat up some of the cans of food.

Joel always liked food that was hot. There was something special about eating hot food rather than eating it warm directly from the can. Maybe for a brief moment he could remember the camping trips his family used to take when he was younger. Making a fire was usually too risky but here they were protected from wandering walkers and the adjacent buildings provided good enough cover to block unwanted visitors from seeing the fire light.

Mixed vegetables and a can of cabbage were a welcome delicacy. There was also a can of pumpkin pie filling and they all took turns eating a spoonful at a time. Joel saw Hannah smile and it brought more warmth to his soul than the fire or the food. For a moment it seemed she relaxed and stopped worrying about who would die next or what bodies were lurking around the next corner.

They lay on their backs, staring up at the stars as Joel and Hannah listened to Jessie read a small Bible he carried around in his pocket. The fire cracked and popped and there didn't seem to be any walker activity as the sound of crickets and frogs filled the night air.

"So, what did you do," Hannah said, "before."

"I was a self defense instructor up near Canton," Joel said. "I trained the new recruits for the police departments all over Cherokee county."

"Really? So you taught people how to beat up other people?" She laughed.

"We live in a scary world," Joel said, catching himself. "Well, it _was_ scary before. Now it's… I don't even know what it is now. It's just survival. It used to be fending off an attacker with some grappling moves was enough to scare people off. Now people are shooting other people without even thinking about it."

"But I'm sure your training helped people and probably saved lives, too."

"Maybe," said Joel, changing the subject. "How about you? What did you do? No, wait, let me guess." He hoped she wasn't a housewife with an undead husband roaming around somewhere.

"Marksman in the military?"

"You've seen me shoot, I'm not _that_ good."

"Okay, um, roller derby…er. Roller derby person. Roller derby-ist!"

"What?" She laughed and threw a small stone at him which bounced harmlessly off his shirt. "No, what is the matter with you?"

"Alright, I give up. What was your claim to fame?"

"You'll laugh."

"I promise I won't."

"Promise?" she said, flipping over and staring at him. Joel turned over and smiled at her. She looked beautiful in the waning firelight.

"Promise."

"Agricultural biologist."

"You know, that was going to be my next guess!"

"Shut up!"

"Wow, you really know how to handle a gun for a pencil pusher."

"My father used to take me hunting. We owned a large farm in Alabama and he taught me everything he knew about farming. He never had a son so I guess he figured I would take over the farm some day."

"Did you?"

"I had other plans. I wanted to go to college and become an independent woman, away from the smell of gasoline and dirt."

"And you still became an agricultural biologist?"

"Even though I rejected the farm, I still loved the processes of plants, the endless natural cycle of life, death and rebirth. I always had a fascination with a tiny seed becoming something larger than itself."

"Because you wanted to become something more?"

"I guess so," Hannah said. "but then my dad died before I finished college and my mom sold the farm and I just kind of wandered around..." She flopped onto her back and sighed. "Then the whole world went to shit."

Joel wanted to ask her more, like about boyfriends but he figured that could wait for another day. He threw a few more pieces of wood on the fire and closed his eyes. This might be the most peaceful sleep he's gotten in a long time.

"Well, we're still here." Joel said. "Maybe Jessie's right and there's some greater reason for us being here."

"I hope so," Hanna said. "Night Joel."

"Night Hannah."

As the fire burned Joel thought that in the morning he would tell Hannah that he wanted to go to Terminus, that he believed that a safe place existed and that he wanted more nights like this one…

Joel awoke to the barrel of a gun pressed to his cheek.

* * *

**A/N - I will be uploading the cover for this story later tonight! Also, thanks to daniaus for the review! Stay tuned for chapter 3! ~ JB**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

The morning light was dim as Joel stared up at the rifle pointed at his head. He could see Jessie and Hannah were also being held at gunpoint by two other men. The one that was standing over Joel was a younger man with dark, black hair and black military-style pants and a green shirt. He looked different than most people Joel had met as he was clean-shaven, his hair was slicked back and his clothes were spotless. The other men were dressed the same and were just as clean.

"Get up," the man said. "Slowly." His voice was firm, but not overly aggressive. He reminded Joel of some of the police officers he had known. Joel slowly rose to his feet, making sure his hands were in plain view. The last thing he needed was to make anyone nervous or jumpy. They were probably just roaming mercenaries and he hoped they just wanted their stuff.

"Look," said Joel. "We don't have much for supplies, but you're welcome to anything we have. We're not looking for any trouble." Joel looked around for anything he could use as a weapon but his backpack and Hannah's rifle had been moved and were sitting next to a black truck where three more men were keeping guard. There wasn't any use fighting his way out of this. They all had high powered guns that were no match for the three of them even if he could get to the rifle.

The man looked over at Jessie and Hannah and then back to him. "Who are you with?"

Joel thought this was a strange question. "With?" he said. "No one, it's just us three. We found some food and decided to camp here for the night."

The man pointed at Jessie. "Are you with him?"

Joel had a sinking feeling in his stomach that the answer to this question was important. Did Jessie do something that had angered these men or was Jessie their friend, he wondered. Well, seeing how Jessie was also being held at gunpoint he didn't think Jessie was their friend. But Jessie had also saved Joel's life so he couldn't just disown the man. He figured the truth was the best option.

"No," Joel said. "We came across him a few days ago north of here. He was being attacked by walkers and we helped him out. He says there's some kind of community down south, a place with lots of people and safety for everyone who arrives."

The man glanced at the other men and then turned back to Joel. "What else did he tell you?"

"Just that it's called Terminus and that he thinks God is telling him to show people how to get there. He's been putting up these signs."

"Signs?"

"Yeah, with a map and directions how to get there."

The man lowered his gun. Joel relaxed a little. The other men, seeing their leader lower his weapon, lowered their guns too. Hannah ran over and wrapped her arms around Joel. She seemed relieved but still stood close enough to touch him. Jessie was quiet and held his head down.

"Secure the weapons," the man said as the truck started up. Joel saw one of the men take his backpack and the rifle and put it in the truck. The man turned back to them. "Let's go," he said.

"Go where?" Hannah said.

"You're coming with us," said the man.

Joel could tell that it wasn't a suggestion. "Alright, but where are you taking us?"

"We have orders to take you back," said the man. "Now get in the truck, please."

Hannah looked at Joel and he nodded. The three of them climbed up into the bed of the truck and sat on the floor. The man pounded his fist on the top of truck and it took off down the road.

Joel could still see the smoke rising up into the morning air from their fire. He remembered the night before and the small moment of happiness he had shared with Hannah. Now he had no idea what would happen to them.

Looking at Hannah, she motioned with her eyes to the man standing next to her and the rifle in his hand. He knew what she meant and he shook his head. Any attempt to overtake these men would end in failure. Joel was pretty good at reading people and these men seemed different than the type of people who would put a bullet in your head and leave you on the side of the road.

No, these men were organized. Not military, not police, but they had a command structure and judging by their appearance, Joel figured they must have a significant camp nearby. He also heard radio chatter through the cab of the truck but couldn't distinguish any of it. Still, if they had short-wave radios, they must have an antenna and electricity.

They drove for an hour, stopping occasionally to remove debris from the road or to dispatch walkers. If there were just one or two they would slow down a little bit and simply run them over and keep going. Passing a yellow school bus, they saw dead bodies littered around it and wondered what horror had befallen that group. Maybe they were ambushed by one of the large, roving packs of walkers that have been seen lately.

Suddenly the truck stopped. Joel heard the men talking and he stood up to see what was going on. There were two men blocking the road, pointing their weapons at the truck. Unlike the men they were with, these two men were dirty, unkempt and looked like the type of men that would kill for anything. They had placed two large vans on the shoulder of the road, making any attempt to go around impossible. They would have to get through where the two men were standing and they didn't seem too keen on allowing that. Hannah went to stand up and look over the top of the truck.

"Get down," Joel said to Hannah, whispering. Seeing the two men, she ducked back down in the truck.

Joel listened to the men talking.

"Clear the road," the leader said. He was standing in front of Joel in the back of the truck facing them men. Joel could see the men in the front seat readying their weapons out of sight of the men in the road.

"I'm afraid not, amigo," the man in the road said. "We own this road and anything we find on it. We're gonna need you to turn off the vehicle and drop your guns."

"I don't think so," the man said. Joel saw his right hand slowly pull a pistol out of a holster on his hip.

"Maybe you don't understand what I'm saying," said the man in the road, getting irritated. "I said, get out of the f—" The action was lightning fast. The bullet passed through the man in the road's head and he fell backwards. The other man had no chance to lift his gun before the driver had opened the door and shot him multiple times in the chest. He fell on top of the other man.

"Oh, I understand," said the leader, placing his gun back in its holster. "Barrett, McConnell, clear the bodies from the road. I want to get back before dark." The two bodies were dragged off the road and tossed into the grass on the side of the road. One of the shorter men, which Joel found out was Barrett, put a bullet into the head of the man who was shot in the chest, so he wouldn't turn into a walker.

They kept driving. The sun was ducking and hiding behind the tree line as late afternoon arrived. They didn't run into anymore people after that, just random groups of walkers that were quickly dispatched and then they continued on. Hannah fell asleep on Joel's shoulder and Jessie seemed lost in his own thoughts. Joel caught the eyes of the leader. He was staring at him.

"Do you have a name?" Joel said. "Or are you going to kill us and dump us on the side of the road like those other men?"

The man paused for a moment, and then spoke softer than his normal authoritative voice. "I'm Lieutenant Strauss," he said, "and I'm not going to kill you. Those men were the enemy. You three are not the enemy yet."

"Yet?" Joel said.

"I am not the one who decides what side you are on. That is up to you and the Captain."

"Is that who we're going to see, the Captain?"

Strauss nodded. "We are under orders to bring back anyone who might still be complete."

"What do you mean, complete?" Joel said.

"The Captain believes that some people lose a part of themselves out here in the world. They see too much death, too much suffering and when they reach that point where they will do anything to survive, then they become incomplete. Kind of like what makes them human, what makes them a good neighbor, or a friend, or a lover. They've lost that part of them that allows them to ever return to society."

"Like those men back there?"

"Perhaps in a world with psychologists and doctors and medications those kinds of people might be able to re-enter society, but in the world we live in today there is no cure for an incomplete person. You keep them separate from the complete people and eventually, they destroy themselves. The Captain calls it the cycle."

"What if we had run or fought back or refused to come with you?" Joel said.

"Then you would have destroyed yourselves and the cycle would complete."

Hannah woke up and Strauss gave them a few pieces of dried meat and a canteen. They ate and drank the water as the sun was gone from the sky and the red and orange hues of dusk were fast approaching. It was then that Joel began to notice more and more houses and buildings, including gas stations and mini-marts. He even saw what looked to be a mall. They were no longer in the country, they had driven into the suburbs of a city.

"Where are we?" said Hannah.

"Almost there," said Strauss.

Joel was getting nervous. He had spent some time near Atlanta after the outbreak and the walkers didn't move in groups of ten or twenty, but hundreds and they were especially hungry. "We shouldn't be this close to a city." Joel said. "We'll be overrun, even with your firepower."

Strauss looked calm and composed. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. We know what we're doing."

"Sure," Joel said. "That's what they all say. Right before they get torn apart by hungry walkers."

"Look," Strauss said. He pointed to something on the horizon. It was a huge building with tall concrete walls and through the waning light of day Joel could see artificial light coming from the top of it.

"Hannah, Jessie, look at this." Joel said. Hannah and Jessie stood up and saw that it wasn't a building, it was a stadium. Standing apart from any other structure, it was surrounded by nothing but empty space, probably parking areas. He could just barely make out what looked like barricades covered in barbed wire.

The truck drove through the part of the barricade that was open and the stadium loomed over them. There was a tattered, faded sign that said something about a 2010 tournament. Joel realized for a moment how long it had been since the outbreak.

Two guards opened a large gate and the truck drove in. Strauss nodded at the men and then they were in a long tunnel. The tunnel was dimly lit, but it was light. Joel noticed how strange artificial light looked in the years since he'd seen any. He could see a light at the end and he assumed it must be the playing field that was used for football. Joel had gone to a few football games in Atlanta and was amazed at the amount of people in the stadium.

The truck stopped.

"Let's go," Strauss said. He entered a door in the side of the tunnel. He led them down a hallway and then into a large room with benches lined up on one side. There were lights in here too, but they were dim. Their eyes were trying to adjust to the light levels. Joel thought this was probably a locker room, but all the lockers had been removed, leaving only the short, wooden benches.

"Sit," said Strauss. "He's coming down to see you."

"Who is?" Hannah said.

"The Captain."

"What is this place, some kind of military base?" Joel said.

"This is the first city in the new world, a beacon of hope in a hopeless land." Strauss said. "Welcome to Haven."

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**A/N - Thanks for the views and reviews! I know most people don't write 100% OC stories on here, but I think you will grow to love these characters. (or hate them...) Big thanks to Nameless Wildflower for the fav and review. Big props! Anyways, get ready for Chapter 4 and the meeting with The Captain! ~ JB**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

All the men stood at attention when he walked in. He was older than Joel expected, probably late fifties, and was significantly shorter than Lieutenant Strauss. It wasn't the clean, light blue button-down shirt that had its top button unbuttoned that stirred something inside Joel, it was the way he walked. He walked as if he didn't fear for his life, or where he would find his next meal. He conducted his actions like a normal person, something Joel hadn't seen since bfore the outbreak. He sported a shadowy chin full of whiskers, but had a warm, inviting smile that he was displaying for them as he walked in the room.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to Haven, our little slice of the future, today. My name is Richard Dunbridge, but everyone around here calls me The Captain." He laughed. "It's a quaint nickname the kind folks of Haven have given to me, on the account I used to be an airline pilot before the war."

"War?" Hannah said.

The Captains demeanor softened and he stepped close to Hannah. "Yes, my dear, the war against humanity. It is a war that we are losing, which is why we take some extreme measures to guarantee our victory. I do apologize if you arrived here under duress, but I assure you we mean no harm. In fact, you are now inside the safest, most well-guarded place in all of Georgia, possibly the whole world."

His words flowed from him like a memorized infomercial. Joel wondered how many times he had given this speech.

"The reason," he continued, "we have brought you here is not because you need us, even though anyone who joins our community will never have to worry about the biters ever again, but because a community is only as strong as the people in it. What we are offering, is an opportunity to forge ahead into a brave new world. Once our planet has cleansed itself of this scourge, there will be a great rebuilding of human civilization and the small flames of our species will once again spread across the world. The tinder basket of that fire of revolution will start right here in Haven and we need you to help us accomplish this mission."

"And if we refuse?" Joel said.

"What is your name?" said the Captain.

"Joel."

"Well, Joel, no one is a prisoner here. Everyone is completely free to leave anytime they wish. But they leave with the understanding that they are no longer under our protection."

Hannah said, "So you just kidnap people by gunpoint, then let them leave? What the hell is that?"

"While it is true our methods are quite strict, we believe that people need to be here, to see what we've done here and to see what they can become here, before they decide to continue on their own. If you'd decide to leave, we will even drive you outside the city as a token of our goodwill. We have rules here, and laws and our community is based on respect and service to each other. In a world that is out of control, we have stability."

"There are lots of people out there," Joel said. "Good people that need help. You can't fit everyone inside this stadium."

The Captain sat on a nearby bench, folding his hands in his lap. "Of course, you are right. Even if we had unlimited resources, our small island in the storm could not support all those who are lost, which is why we send out our officers, like Lieutenant Strauss here to rescue those who can be rescued and see if they are what Haven needs."

"What do you need?" Joel said.

"Tell me, when you were brought here, did you see the lights here? Well, we have people that do just that. We have skilled electricians, physicians, architects and powerful men and women that will become the leading edge of humanity's rise from the ashes. Strauss and his men risked their lives and utilized their skills to salvage solar panels from some of the high-rises in Atlanta and bring them here. We have hard-working folks that tend to the field, growing the food we eat here. We have a preacher and a spiritual advisor to fulfill the spiritual needs of our community. We even have a basic printing operation where we can distribute information through out Haven with ease. We are always moving forward, always getting better and we need the skills of good, complete people to make that happen in the future."

"So where do we come in?" Hannah said.

"Well, it's late and tonight you will stay here as my guests and tomorrow we will get down to business."

"And then what?" Joel said. "Tomorrow we have some kind of job interview?"

"I'd like to meet with all of you tomorrow so we can get to know one another," said the Captain, standing to his feet and straightening his shirt. "Lieutenant, could you please escort our guests to their housing and make sure they get some food and water. It was so nice to meet you and I look forward to our meeting tomorrow. I have many things to attend to so I will bid you goodnight."

He left the room and the door clanged shut and echoed through the room. Strauss led them through a set of tunnels and seemed more relaxed.

As they walked Hannah whispered to Joel, "What do you think?"

Joel spoke softly so Strauss couldn't hear him. "I don't know. He's right, this place is amazing. I mean, food, electricity, guards, laws? It's like a tiny America stuffed into a football stadium."

"But what about the Captain? Can we trust him? He could just as easily shoot us in the head than give us food and shelter."

"I know," Joel hissed, "but at this point we don't have any other options. We'll stay here tonight and decide tomorrow."

"What about Terminus?" Hannah looked at Jessie. He had been completely unresponsive since they were kidnapped that morning.

Joel was wondering if something had snapped inside of him. "Even if it actually existed, we're at least a hundred miles away now. I'm afraid if Terminus was real, we'll never find out."

Strauss stopped at a metal door at the end of the hallway. "We're here," he said.

As he opened the door, a strong, warm breeze rushed past them. Joel heard children laughing and people milling about. He smelled something cooking and saw smoke billowing past the door. They stepped through the door.

Joel and Hannah stopped and stared. What they saw was more than they could have imagined. The stadium seats had been removed, repurposed and small houses were stacked on top of each other stretching around three quarters of the stadium. There were hundreds of them, and Joel could see ropes strung between them with clothes blowing in the wind. Each one was crudely made with various scavenged materials. It looked like something from Mexico or South America.

There was no green grass or yard markers, no fifty yard line, although Joel could see the yellow goal posts were being used as supports to hold up a roof that had been made to cover half the stadium. Joel could see the glass enclosed private booths and announcers booths were lit up and people were busy doing things inside. Joel wondered who lived there and assumed one of those belonged to the Captain.

On the ground level, there was a podium and some of the seats had been relocated onto the field. On the other end there was a fenced in area and Joel could see tall green rows of corn and some other crops he couldn't figure out. He could see people with shovels and watering cans tending to the crops and there was another guard with a rifle standing at the entrance to this garden. So there are still threats, even without the walkers, Joel thought.

"That's the same reaction most people have when they see Haven for the first time," Strauss said, smiling. "The Captain isn't joking when he talks about what we have accomplished here. Everyone here has enormous pride in making Haven what you see. Everyone is a cog in a community machine that exists to better our lives."

"This is remarkable," Hannah said.

"Thank you," Strauss said. "People don't just survive here, they thrive. We have had seven children born here and Reverend Parker has performed twelve marriages. Come on, we'll cut through and head to the café."

"What's that smell?" Joel said.

"The food we grow here isn't enough to feed all these people so we send out hunting parties to bring back anything that moves. Then we send all the food to be processed."

"Processed?"

"Fairness is one of the pillars in Haven," Strauss said, walking along the fence surrounding the crops. "All the food that is brought back by the hunting parties or grown here on the ground is sent to be processed and our cooks and nutritionists prepare all the food and turn them into food blocks, each one filled with the same nutrients, protein and vitamins so there is complete food equality. No one receives more than they need, and no one dies of an empty stomach." They arrived toward the rear of the grounds and Strauss waved at a large man with a bushy beard.

"Mike!" the man said. "How was your trip? Were you able to find any?"

Strauss smiled and turned toward them. "This is Craig," he said. "He runs the food processing operation and even though were are living in the apocalypse, he has a fondness for fine dining."

"Please to meet you," Craig said, shaking each of their hands individually. "I will admit, that I have not lost my palette for finer things."

"When I am out with the hunting parties, I try to pick off a few pheasants or quails for Craig," Strauss said. "Sometimes I can only come back with the eggs."

"And that's good enough for me!" Craig said.

"Craig, we need three blocks, authorized by the Captain."

"Ah," said Craig. "Absolutely. A cube of processed meats and vegetables might not sound very appetizing, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. It took me a while to perfect the recipe, but we have a large supply of spices to give it a good flavor. Some people say it tastes kind of like a cross between turkey and beef, but I think it's much more rich in flavor than either of those." He yelled to a young man behind a counter. "Ricky! Three blocks, please."

The man nodded and disappeared from behind the counter and emerged a moment later carrying three green cubes, about the size of a grapefruit. Craig picked them up and handed one to each of us.

"Bon appetite!" he said.

"Thank you Craig," Strauss said. Craig nodded and walked back into the door next to the counter. "Let's go, I'll take you to the guest house."

The block of food that Joel was holding was moist, but not wet and it felt spongy, like you could take a bite out of it easily. It smelled good, like beef jerky mixed with fresh vegetables, which was appropriate, seeing how that was exactly what it was. It had some good weight to it, like it would fill the average stomach nicely. Joel's stomach growled.

"Some people break it up on a plate," Strauss said. "And others make a soup out of it and others just eat it raw. Either way no one goes hungry in Haven." They made their way up some stairs to the second level.

"It smells good," Hannah said.

"Here we are," Strauss said, reaching a small room on the third level. Opening the door, they saw a medium-sized room with four beds, a small table in the middle and a window that looked out over the city. The room was clean and each bed had a pillow and a blanket. Strauss handed them three bottles of water. "If you need anything, there will be a guard just outside the door."

"You mean in case we try to leave?" Joel said.

Strauss looked at him. "We have a curfew here and everyone abides by it. You are not prisoners here, but unfortunately the main gate isn't allowed to be opened after dark. You will stay the night as guests of the Captain. Good night."

He shut the door behind him and they were alone. There was no light outside the window but Joel could still see the faint LED lights on the ground level but it looked as if everyone had gone home for the night. He caught a glimpse of a few men walking around, but they were carrying weapons and he assumed they were more guards.

"There's something wrong with Jessie," Hannah said.

Jessie was sitting on the edge of his bed rocking back and forth staring straight ahead.

"Jessie?" Joel said. "Jessie, are you alright?" He didn't respond, but his lips were mouthing something. Joel placed his ear directly in front of Jessie's mouth and listened.

"Whats he saying?" Hannah said. "What is it?"

"He just keeps repeating the same word over and over."

"What word?"

Joel looked at Hannah and said, "Leviathan."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Leviathan was the biblical monster that swallowed Jonah when he was cast into the sea."

"So?"

"I think Jessie thinks he's in the belly of the beast."

A cool breeze blew through the small window as they tried to sleep.

* * *

**A/N - Thanks for the views and reviews! Thanks to Nameless Wildflower for the review of Chapter 3! Watch out for Chapter 5 coming soon! **

**- J.B.**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Jessie mumbled himself to sleep and Hannah was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She could still hear strange noises coming in from the outside. After years of being a wanderer always looking over her shoulder, she couldn't convince her brain that the variety of noises outside weren't walkers that wanted to tear her apart. Every noise made her jump, even though when she looked out the window, it was just someone closing a gate or moving a trash can.

_I'm safe,_ she thought. _There isn't anything around here that can hurt me._

It still didn't work. She got out of her bed and quietly tip-toed to the door. Turning the metal handle, she stepped out and silently closed it behind her. Both men in her room were still sleeping, and she looked up and down the long, curving hallway. It was empty. Surprised to find her room unguarded, she walked down the dimly-lit hallway, looking and listening for anyone coming.

She remembered when she was sixteen; she had snuck out of her parent's house in the middle of the night to meet a boy, Derek Cardwell. She had opened her bedroom window and scurried out onto the roof. She tried to climb down the trestle and it broke under her weight and she fell onto her mothers rose bushes and sprained her ankle pretty bad. Her parents woke up to her yelling in pain and Derek Cardwell wound up going out with Brittany Monroe anyways. Either way sneaking around wasn't her forte.

She turned a corner and saw two people standing in the hallway, a man and a woman. She quickly hid behind a concrete pillar, completely hidden in the shadows. The hallways were dimly lit and every corner was shrouded in complete darkness. Hannah saw that the woman was crying and it looked like the man was consoling her.

"It's going to be fine," the man said. "She's in good hands."

The woman buried her face into the man's shoulder and he led her away. Hannah wondered who was probably not going to be fine, despite the lies the man had told the woman. She walked over to the door they were standing near and slowly cracked it open. The room was brighter than the hallway, partly because of a large light hanging above an operating table in the middle of the room. There were small carts scattered about the room with medical instruments neatly laid out on them.

Hannah walked around the table, looking over the equipment. She saw that this was a central room with four other rooms off to either side and there was a beeping sound coming from one of the side rooms. She opened the door and walked in. There was a bed in there, a side table and an IV pole that was connected to a small child sleeping in the bed. Hannah figured she was about six years old.

The girl had dirty blonde hair and wires and leads were connected to her, and there was a heart rate monitor next to her bed that was beeping in rhythm with her heartbeat. The girl stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes.

"Mom?" she said, eyes still half-closed.

Hannah knew the little girl could see her. There was no hiding in this room. "Sorry," Hannah said. "I think your mother left."

"Who are you? You're not the doctor. Are you an angel?"

Hannah walked over to the bedside and brushed the little girl's hair out her face and said, "No, honey, I'm not an angel, just a visitor." Hannah wondered what was wrong with such a beautiful young girl.

"Oh, I was hoping you were an angel. I dreamed about angels."

"You did?" Hannah said softly. "Well, if I were an angel, wouldn't I have wings and glow or something?"

"Well, my mom says angels can look just like regular people, but you don't know they're angels until they do a miracle." The girl squeezed a raggedy stuffed cat tightly. "My name is Grace, what's yours?"

"I'm Hannah."

"That's a nice name. You have pretty hair. My hair used to be pretty before I got sick."

"I think your hair is still pretty, Grace."

"Thanks. My parents said it will get better once I'm not sick anymore, but I don't know if that's going to happen."

"Why not? Lot's of people get sick, but then they get medicine and they get better. It looks like they are taking very good care of you here."

"Well," she paused. "The coin man got sick just like me, and then he never came back. My parents said he moved to a different place, but I don't believe them. I think he died."

"Who is the coin man?"

"He was a nice man. He didn't have a family and he always brought us coins from his trips outside. He gave me the silver ones, cause those are my favorite. I have a jar at home full of them. Mom and dad said they aren't worth anything anymore but I think they're pretty."

"That sounds nice. So he got sick?"

"Yeah," Grace said, sighing. "One of my friends found him lying on the ground, and yelled and all the adults took him away. I saw him after that but he was here in the hospital, hooked up just like me."

"Maybe he got better and actually left?"

"I don't know why he would leave. I don't believe them."

Hannah held Grace's hand. "Listen to me," she said. "I know you're going to get better. I can sense these things about people and I know that you are a very special little girl who is loved by a lot of people and little girls who are loved very much are the strongest because love is the strongest power in the world." Hannah smiled and Grace smiled right back. She didn't notice the woman standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing?" demanded the woman. "Who are you? You are not allowed to be in here."

"I…" Hannah said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I was just out walking and I—"

"I'm calling a guard."

Grace propped herself up on her elbows. "No!" she said. "Hannah is my visitor and she's nice and you need to leave her alone!"

The woman walked over to Grace's bed sat down next to her. She had straight, blond hair and was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt and jeans. A stethoscope dangled around her neck. "Gracie, sweetheart, go back to sleep, you need to get your rest. Remember, we talked about this?"

Grace laid back down on her pillow and her eyes began to close. "Hannah is nice," she said. "She's my friend. Don't get her in trouble."

The woman placed her hand on Grace's forehead and smiled. "Get some rest." She stood up and walked out of the room with Hannah, shutting the door behind her. She turned to Hannah. "Alright, now are you going to tell me who you are?"

"I'm Hannah. This is my first night here. I couldn't sleep. I'm sorry."

The woman sighed rubbed her face with her hands. "Get used to it," she said. "I'm Christine, Haven's _premiere_ health professional." She said the words 'premiere health professional' in a sarcastic tone.

"You mean you're not a doctor?"

"I'm the closest thing Haven has for a doctor, but no, I was a first year nursing resident before the war. I keep hoping one day an actual doctor will arrive and I can go back to fetching supplies and setting up IV's. As you can see, there are some things that are just beyond me." She stared toward the room Grace was in.

"What's wrong with her?" Hannah said.

"We don't know. I've run every test we have the capabilities to perform and we're still not any closer to figuring it out. The only thing we do know is that it's not contagious. We found that out from another person who had the same symptoms."

Hannah remembered what Grace had said about the main with the coins. "What happened to him?" she said.

Christie paused for a moment, staring blankly ahead. She shot Hannah a suspicious look, and Hannah wondered if she was going to lie to her too like they did to Grace. "Same thing that happens to all of us eventually." She sat down and opened a bottle of liquid and poured some of it into a cup. She poured a second glass and offered it to Hannah.

"Thanks," she said. "So, the man died?" Surprisingly, the liquid was just water.

"No, he turned," said Christie, "into one of them."

Hannah could sense that Christie was over her head. She was young, and the bags under her eyes were in stark contrast to her perfect skin. She was only slightly younger than Hannah. "Everyone turns when they die," Hannah said. "Even if they aren't bit."

She looked up at Hannah. "He didn't die. He just turned."

"What? What do you mean?"

"His heart was still beating after the virus took control of his brain. He wasn't walking dead, he was just changed, but still very much alive."

Hannah felt a chill run up her spine. If the virus was mutating, then perhaps it could begin to turn perfectly healthy people while they were still alive. She looked into the room with Grace in it. "So what are you going to do?" Hannah said.

A tear ran down Christie's cheek. "I don't know," she said, breaking down. "I'm not a doctor but these people are looking to me for help and I am completely lost. How am I supposed to help people when I can't even help this little girl?"

Hannah walked over to her and put her arm around her shoulder. She looked into her light blue eyes. "Hey, we're all doing the best we can. That's the only thing we can do these days. No one should feel bad for helping people. God knows we need more people like you. You're doing a good thing here, Christie."

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "You can call me Chrissie. Only my father calls me Christie."

"Okay," Hannah said.

"Oh God, I must look like a train wreck right now," she said, letting out a laugh. "I'm sorry. I don't even know you."

"These days, simply being another human being is enough to make us all brothers and sisters. Our differences we had in the past seem so small now." She stood up and walked toward the door.

"You're right," Chrissie said. "Hold on." She walked over to a metal cabinet and pulled out a white bottle. She opened it and shook out two small pills into her hand. "Here, these will help you sleep. Trust me."

"Thank you," Hannah said. "I guess I'll be seeing you around?"

Chrissie smiled. "So, you're going to be staying then?"

"I think so," she said smiling. "Thanks again. Goodnight Chrissie."

"Night Hannah."

Hannah walked out the door feeling happiness for a new friend and sadness for the small girl that thought she was an angel. Hannah knew that even in this seemingly safe place, nature still had the upper hand and it made her angry. Angry that such an innocent child would still not be spared from the nightmare just outside the walls of Haven. She thought about her group she had been with a few weeks ago and recalled their faces and their names. They were all people, good people who had hopes and dreams and favorite colors but they were all probably dead now. There simply wasn't enough time for humanity to survive before this virus would claim every last victim it could.

_Chrissie was also a victim_, she thought. She had been given such an enormous responsibility and didn't have the shoulders for it. Hannah saw toughness in her and knew that she would be able to handle anything thrown at her. She reminded her of Joel, and how she didn't know how much strength she really had. _Hell,_ she thought, _I don't even know how much strength I have. _She walked down the hallway imagining the people around her being strengthened through adversity, even though she knew that some people would be crushed under the weight.

Hannah found herself wanting to stay in Haven and get to know Grace and Chrissie and become part of someone else's life, and not have to worry about just existing and not dying. Joel had said that Terminus was too far away and they would never be able to find it again, even if they had a vehicle, which they didn't. They were too close to the city to find a safe place anywhere remotely close to here. No, she would have to convince Joel to stay there.

_But what if he decides to leave anyways_, she thought. _Should I go with him?_ She wasn't sure how she felt for Joel. He was a good man and she trusted him, but they had only known each other for a short while and what kind of life would they have before she lost to him to a freak accident or an illness or a walker?

_An illness. _

She thought about Grace and the man who had gotten sick and turned into a walker while he was still alive. Hannah had seen enough dead people turn into walkers but they were always dead first. No heartbeat, no breath, no life and then they turned. She didn't know what to think of a living walker. How much of who they were would still be in there somewhere? She didn't want to think about it.

She turned the corner toward where her room was and the guard was standing there. He seemed surprised to see her. Obviously he had not noticed her leaving the room.

"You're not allowed out after curfew," he said.

"I couldn't sleep," said Hannah, "so I went for a walk."

"Still," he said firmly. "The rules are not to be broken, Captain's orders. I'll have to report this."

She was not in the mood for him. "And how would the Captain feel about a guard, who was supposed to be protecting this room, allowing someone to just walk right out of it? I have a feeling that you had a job to do and failed miserably at it. Stop me if I'm getting close here."

The guard tensed up and stood at attention next to the door. "Have a good night, ma'am," he said. "Let me know if you need any further assistance and I will escort you."

"You do that," she said, closing the door behind her. Joel and Jessie were still asleep as she laid in her bed and pulled the covers over her. She reached for her bottle of water and popped the pills Chrissie had given her into her mouth. They were bitter and she swallowed them down begrudgingly. She contained a cough that was welling up from her throat. The room didn't have a clock so she had no idea what time it was but she didn't really care.

She looked over at Jessie and thought about his faith and how he managed to brave this world believing that his God would protect him, even though so many other people had died, still standing firm in their steadfast faith. She wasn't sure if she believed in a god anymore. If there was an all-powerful being that could stop this hell, she hated him for staying his hand.

_What was the point of all this?_ she thought. _If either God or nature has some grand design for this Universe, I don't understand what it could be._

She stared at the ceiling and thought about Chrissie and the tears that ran down her cheek. Part of her wanted to console her, take the weight off her shoulder, see her laugh instead of cry. But she knew that Chrissie had a job to do and she was the only one even remotely qualified to do it. If Grace was going to have any chance at all, it would be with Chrissie's help.

_And mine_, she thought, _and mine…_


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Joel woke to the sound of Hannah yelling. He jumped from his bed and ran out the door and saw Hannah being held by a guard. She was kicking and yelling at another guard.

"Hey!" Joel said running over to them. "Let her go!" He grabbed her and wrestled her away from the guard. She was breathing heavily. "Hannah, what's wrong?"

"They took Jessie and they won't tell me where."

"Jessie?" Joel said. "What do you mean they took him?"

"This morning," she said. "Two of these goons came in and dragged him away. I tried to follow them but I was told I had to stay here."

Joel turned to the two men. "Alright, what's going on? What have you done with Jessie?"

"He's fine," said the taller of the two men. "The Captain wanted to speak with him privately."

"About what?" Hannah said.

"We're not privy to such information, ma'am."

"Privy?!" Hannah yelled. "I'll give you privy!" She lunged for one of the men and Joel grabbed her by the waist.

"We are also supposed to have a meeting with the Captain today," Joel said. "When can we talk with him?"

"The Captain is a very busy man. He will call for you when he is ready."

Hannah piped up. "Well, what are we supposed to do until then?"

"You are free to access all the common areas, including the grounds," the short man said. "It's Sunday, so there will be a spiritual service at eleven. Listen for the bell. Also, the Captain has given you some new clothes; you will find them in your room. You are not to enter the private areas. Those hallways are marked with yellow."

Joel looked at Hannah and gave her a look that meant 'let it go'. She relaxed. They found their clothes in their rooms. Joel had a pair of khaki pants that looked practically new and the shirt was actually new, as it had a price tag hanging off of it. Hannah had an orange t-shirt with a pair of jeans. Try as he might, Joel couldn't help but see Hannah as she was slipping into her pants. She was young and years of walking everywhere had made her legs firm and muscular. He also noticed how skinny she was, most likely from the lack of food. He looked away before she noticed him watching her. There were also two pairs of sandals.

"Why do I feel like I'm on vacation?" Joel said.

"Well, we seem to be getting the royal treatment for the most part," Hannah said.

"I don't know."

"What's wrong?" Hannah said.

"Nothing, just wondering what happens if we decide we're not staying. Do we leave naked?"

Hannah recalled the previous night and Chrissie crying and Grace laying there in that bed. "I think we should think about staying here," she said.

"Why?"

"Because what else is there, Joel? Are we going to find a place better than here? Even if Terminus exists, you think some railroad junction is going to be better than a stadium full of people with guns and food and children and…"

"…and guards and curfews and mysterious meetings," Joel added. "Hannah, I understand that safety and security comes with a price, I'm just not sure yet whether the price here is worth it."

"I think it is worth it. Curfews and yellow painted hallways are a small price to pay for food, and clothing, and life."

Joel sighed. "You might be right, let's see what happens when we meet with the Captain, okay?"

Hannah nodded. They finished getting ready and slipped into their sandals. Hannah insisted on making her bed. Old habit, she had said. They walked down some stairs and onto the ground level. Everyone was milling about and they were met with smiles and 'good mornings' from a few people. Joel noticed that Hannah seemed to be looking for someone. He saw Strauss cutting through the people and headed toward them.

"Good morning," he said. "Sleep well?"

"I don't do well with strange places," Hannah said.

"Ah, well hopefully it will get better over time. It can take some getting used to. When I first arrived here, I still kept my knife under my pillow for the first two weeks."

Joel was indignant. "Oh, I guess that was before all victims… er, I mean visitors were stripped of their weapons."

Strauss grew annoyed. "There was a time when Haven was not as fortified as it is now. We are grateful that we have the stability necessary that our citizens don't need weapons. Someone like you should appreciate that."

Hannah stepped in between them. "Boys, boys," she said. "No fighting till after breakfast."

Joel didn't appreciate being talked down to by someone like Strauss. He knew the type, guys who thought their badge and rank made them better people than everyone else. He had trained enough of them to know how their minds worked. They were not easy to teach and they thought they knew everything. Sometimes Joel would just have to allow them to fall on their ass before he could begin to teach them anything about proper self-defense. A gun was nice but when someone got the jump on you, it couldn't be counted on. Joel knew human anatomy, joints, muscles, tendons, nerves and every which way the body could be manipulated into doing his bidding. He was tempted to use some of them on Strauss but he knew Hannah would be angry. He liked the fact that she was more of a pacifist than he was.

"Yeah, let's get some breakfast," Joel said, locking eyes with Strauss as he walked to the other side of the grounds.

They walked over to the same counter they had gotten a food block the night before. There were a few people in line in front of them. The smell of food made Joel's stomach hurt. He still hadn't fully recuperated from the near-starvation of life on the outside. One by one the people walked away munching on their food block. When they got up to the counter, Craig was there.

"Ah," said Craig. "Good morning! I have something special for you two," he said, pulling out two yellow food blocks. "These are new. They're a new recipe of my own invention. I decided to add a little spice to the food. We recently were able to harvest some potatoes so the texture is slightly different and I added a little touch of cinnamon. I hope you like it."

"That sounds wonderful," Hannah said. "Thank you."

"Thanks," Joel said.

They walked across the field and ate their breakfast. Joel had brought a bottle of water and shared it with Hannah. They noticed a group of people gathering near one end of the field in front of what looked like a small podium. Some of them were still finishing their food blocks, and Joel saw some of the food blocks were brown, and some were yellow. Joel figured they had gotten the new potato recipe, while others had finished off the non-potato variety. I guess they were pulling out all the stops, he thought.

"Hannah!" someone yelled from across the field. It was a young woman with blonde hair.

"Chrissie!" Hannah said. They hugged and Joel felt like he was missing something.

"You look like you were able to get some sleep last night," Chrissie said. "You can call me the miracle worker."

Hannah smiled, "Yeah you were. I can't thank you enough."

"You two know each other?" Joel said.

Hannah said, "Yeah, I couldn't sleep last night so I went for a walk and wound up at the medical facility and there was this sick little girl there, and that's when I met Chrissie. Chrissie, this is Joel."

"Hello Joel," Chrissie said. "I'm in charge of the hospital here in Haven. Well, we call it a hospital, but it's actually part of a locker room that's been converted. We have some good equipment and medical supplies though."

"Please to meet you," Joel said. "What's wrong with the little girl?"

Chrissie looked at Hannah. "Oh, we're currently running some tests, but it's looking good. It's probably just some strain of influenza."

"Oh," Joel said.

"So," Hannah said. "What goes on now?"

"Every Sunday Reverend Piscarro has a service. He's really good. Not everyone in Haven is Christian or even religious so he keeps it general and uplifting. It really brings our community together."

"You sound like the Captain," Joel said.

"It's true a lot of what he says may be rose-tinted, but the people who live here really have a chance to build a life."

The three of them sat down on one of the back benches and waited for the service to start. Joel felt uneasy. Everything just felt wrong. No matter what was going on inside this stadium he could sense the walkers outside the walls. He knew they smelled the same things he smelled and that the noise and the lights were calling to them and they were saying one thing, food.

Joel felt like he was sitting in church but nothing seemed right. He felt like everyone around him was pretending they were in church and pretending they were a happy community, like oblivious robots, completely unaware that the whole world had gone to shit. He thought maybe it was just him, that he was the odd one and that he should enjoy what small amenities life was giving him because they came so few and far between these days. Either way he wasn't really in the mood for a pep rally.

Hannah, however, was talking and laughing with Chrissie and Joel wondered why she had been allowed to leave the room last night and for a moment he was angry at her for leaving him. Even though they had been together for only a few weeks, he felt protective of her. She could have disappeared and no one except him would care. He was the only one who cared about her.

"Here he comes," Chrissie said.

And old man wearing a black suit coat and black pants slowly walked up to the podium. He was bald and had thin wireframe glasses. He smiled brightly as he waved to the crowd. There was no microphone so he had to speak very loudly.

"Blessed week, Haven!" he said.

The crowd repeated in unison, "Blessed week, Haven."

"Brothers and sisters," he began. "It is truly a blessed week to be here. Whether you believe it or not, the shining light of Providence has shone down upon us! The potatoes have been harvested, as some of you know." This last bit was met with applause from the crowd. "I spoke with the Captain and he assures me that we are also going to have a larger-than-expected crop of corn coming up and combined with the cabbage we have in reserve, the outlook for the health and well-being of all of Haven is assured!" More applause. Joel looked over at Hannah and Chrissie and was surprised to see Hannah clapping along with the crowd.

"Just as Jonah was saved from the crushing waves of the unforgiving ocean, so too has God given us a refuge from the storm. Haven is our salvation!" A crescendo of applause cascaded across the stadium, echoing off the walls of the make-shift houses. Someone in the crowd whistled as if they were cheering the Falcons.

Somewhere in the noise of the crowd Joel heard something else. Something different. He quickly looked around. The applause was waning and he heard it again and it was louder this time.

"Hannah," Joel said. "Do you hear that?

Other people had started to notice the noise and stop clapping. The Reverend had a puzzled look on his face as Joel strained to discern the noise. He heard it again and he knew exactly what it was. It was a noise he was too familiar with.

The screams of someone about to die.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Joel, Hannah and Chrissie ran toward the screams. It was a woman's voice. They ran down through the ground level hallways and out toward the east gate when they ran straight into Strauss, who stopped them in their tracks. He held a finger up his lips, silencing them.

As they walked around the corner, they saw the origin of the screams and also why they had stopped. There were four walkers tearing at the abdomen of young women, ripping the flesh and creating a pool of blood around her body. Further down the hallway, more walkers were coming, marching toward them.

"Oh my God," Chrissie said. "Laura…"

Strauss held her back. He looked at Joel and removed his pistol, handing it to him. Joel nodded. Strauss loaded his rifle and switched off the safety. They each took sides of the hallway and Strauss took the first shot at one of the walkers at the body. Joel took out a second one and then focused his fire on the small group coming down the hallway.

Blood splattered on the gray walls of the hallway and the poor lighting in the tunnel made accuracy difficult. Joel fired two rounds and missed both as a walker lunged toward him. A shot rang out and the walker crumpled at his feet. Joel looked at Strauss and said, "Thanks." They took down a few more walkers and suddenly the hallway was quiet.

Chrissie ran over to the body and knelt down beside it. She knew it was too late and that she was gone. It would only be a short time before she would turn into a walker and there was enough of her body intact to make her a problem. Chrissie slid her hand over the woman's face, closing her eyes. "I just saw her today," she said, her voice cracking. "She was telling me she'd been having some back pain and was going to come see me."

Hannah's hand rested on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"How could this happen?" Chrissie said, looking at Strauss.

Strauss pointed down the hall. "The east service entrance must have been breached." More people had gathered in the hallway, mostly people looking on the scene with sadness or horror.

Joel still had the pistol in his hand when two more guards arrived. "With all that gunfire we're going to have a lot more walkers if we don't get it sealed back up."

"Johnson, Reynolds," Strauss said. "Let's go. Keep an eye out, there might be more coming through." He turned and looked at Joel. "We could use another pair of eyes."

Joel nodded his head as Strauss tossed another clip at him.

Strauss looked back at the others. "Everyone else stay here." He looked down at Chrissie holding the dead woman. "Don't wait too long," he said. Chrissie nodded.

The four men walked down the long, curving hallway. This area must not be used much because there were no connecting doorways or hallways like the other tunnels. They reached a point where the lighting stopped and there was nothing but darkness ahead of them.

Johnson took out a flashlight and shone it into the darkness. One walker reacted to the light and began walking toward them. Strauss pointed at Reynolds and made a throat-slitting hand gesture. He removed a large blade from his hip and buried it into its skull. They turned the last corner and saw light. Joel had almost forgotten it was a sunny day and it was only around twelve o'clock in the afternoon. Being deep in the bowels of Haven threw off your perspective of time.

The service door was open and there were some large metal frames that had been pushed into the hallway. Strauss and Joel walked up to the door and looked outside. Joel could see the tall, unkempt grass and a few burned-out vehicles and an entire parking lot full of walkers. There were hundreds of them, maybe thousands of them, just milling around the large lot. The walkers that had made their way through the door must have pushed past whatever had been barricading the door. Joel wondered how much barricading would be needed if a thousand walkers wanted to get in. He didn't want to think about it.

Strauss grabbed hold of the door and attempted to push it closed. It stopped with a thud about half-way. Strauss pushed harder but it wouldn't close. He stuck his head outside the door and said, "Damn."

"What is it?" Joel said, quietly. He saw a female walker turn toward the door, but then she kept walking.

"One of the light poles from the parking lot must have fell over and hit the door. Look, it's still attached to the base. The whole thing is blocking the door," said Strauss.

Joel saw the pole that was at least fifty feet long extending all the way to a concrete base in the parking lot. There was no way they would be able to move the pole side to side as long as it was still attached to the base.

"What are we going to do?" Reynolds said.

"Maybe we could leave the door open but barricade the hallway?" said Johnson.

"No," Strauss said. "We don't have enough material. The hallway is too big and the walls are solid concrete. Maybe if we had the right tools to anchor into the walls, but even then we would need the right materials. No we have to secure this door." He pushed on the door even harder. The light pole made a scraping sound as it rubbed against the metal door. Some of the walkers took notice and began walking toward the sound. "Shit," he said.

Joel looked around the area. There was a large heap of tangled metal that he assumed had been blocking the door before the whole thing collapsed. There was an emergency exit sign that was dark and part of it was broken. On the other side of the hallway was a long, red cabinet marked 'FIRE'. He walked over to it and opened it up, coughing on the dust that fell out of it. Inside was a long fire hose that was about fifty feet long.

Strauss walked over to him. "What are you doing?" he said.

"You see that van in the parking lot?"

"Yes, why?

"Well," Joel said pulling the hose off the wall. "What if we blocked the door from the outside with that van."

"It's destroyed," said Strauss. "There's no way it will run, even if the keys were in it. Someone stripped it out years ago."

"We don't need to drive it all we need to do is pull it." Joel handed him one end of the hose and held onto the other end with the nozzle. He crouched by the door and pointed outside. "See, we'll take out the walkers between here and the van and then I'll attach this end to the back of the van and then I'll come back here and we'll drag it across the parking lot and right up against these doors. The walkers may be good at pushing, but they can't pull and they're never going to be able to push a ten foot van through a seven foot doorway, no matter how many of them there are."

"Alright," said Strauss. He looked at Reynolds and Johnson. "Take out the walkers closest to the door and the van. I'll cover him. We can't take them all out so as soon as you start firing, we're gonna have all of them coming at us so this needs to be fast."

"Right," Johnson said.

"Ready?" said Strauss, looking at Joel.

"Go!" said Joel and he stepped out the door into the sun. The three other men followed behind him. Joel shot the first walker in the head and it fell to the ground. The other men started dropping them fast, clearing a path for him. Running to the van, he could see the mass of walkers in the parking lot past the van all heading toward him. He shot one walker that came around the corner of the van.

It was a commercial van with two swinging doors in the back, with two windows. He ran up and threw the metal nozzle at one of the windows that wasn't broken. It smashed through and he ran the hose around doorframe and out the other window. He did this two more times and then wrapped it onto itself, securing it. The horde of walkers was right on top of him when he heard Strauss's voice call out to him.

"You need to get out of there!" Strauss said.

Joel felt the van move and he saw the walkers crawling over the hood and onto the roof. He turned around and ran back toward the door.

"Pull!" Joel said before he reached the door. The hose went tight as he jumped through the door and gripped the hose with both his hands. The other three men were already pulling. They pulled as hard as they could and the van began to move. It was much more difficult than Joel had thought and the walkers on the roof were adding extra weight. The van was moving roughly the same speed as the hundreds of walkers next to it.

"Pull harder!" Joel said. "Hurry!" They groaned as they pulled on the hose. The van was moving slowly and some of the walkers had surpassed the van. "It's not moving fast enough," Joel said.

"Gahhhhhhh!" Strauss said, his face red from the exertion.

Two more hands gripped the hose in front of Joel.

"Pull!" Hannah said.

They were joined by Chrissie a moment later and now the van was rolling past the walkers. The hose spooled in a pile behind them as they got into a rhythm and used the momentum of the van as leverage. They pulled faster and faster until finally the van smashed into the doors, sending pieces of glass flying and the overhang cut the walkers on the roof into two pieces, which slid down the front windshield. The horde of walkers smashed into the front of the van and stacked on top of each other, unable to get through the door with the van blocking it.

Strauss was sitting on the floor catching his breath. "Nice thinking," he said.

Joel held out his hand and Strauss took it and he helped him to his feet. "Yeah, but it almost didn't work," Joel said.

Strauss looked at Hannah. "Good thing you have friends that aren't good at following orders."

"Yeah," Joel said, smiling at Hannah. "She's got a mind of her own."

The four men finished fortifying the doors until they were satisfied that it would hold. When they walked back down the hallway, a few more men were clearing the walkers and there was a rolling table with Laura's body on it and Chrissie covered her with a blanket. Joel saw the additional knife wound to the head and knew that Chrissie had made sure the woman wouldn't come back.

There was nothing they could do to remove the blood from the floor. Joel knew it would stay there and become black, the moisture would evaporate and eventually it would just be a flaky stain of dead proteins. It would remain a somber reminder that no matter how safe someplace is, it's never completely safe.

No one would go down that hallway anymore, Joel thought. The image of the woman being torn apart by walkers would disrupt the façade of peace that the Captain had created here. Perhaps guards would patrol down the hallway and check the barricade more often now, but the people of Haven would avoid it, not wanting to be reminded.

Joel and Hannah walked back to the main grounds where everyone had been gathered a few hours before. There were less people and the joyful exuberance was all but gone. Most people had simply gone home, shaken up by the cold reality of death.

Reverend Piscarro walked up to the podium. "Brothers and sisters," he said. "Today, one of our own has gone home far too soon. Laura was a gentle soul whose heart knew no boundaries. I have spoken with the Captain and we agreed that there will be a memorial service held on Tuesday at ten o'clock. Every citizen of Haven is special and Laura was no different. We will give her the respect and dignity she deserves. God bless you all." He walked off the stage and the crowd dispersed.

Joel could hear some people sobbing and others mumbling fears of another breach happening again. He turned to Hannah. "Memorial service, huh?" he said, sitting down on a bench and rubbing his eyes. His hands were still throbbing from pulling on the hose earlier. "How many people have we lost in the woods, leaving their bodies for the walkers, only ever knowing their first names?"

"It's different here," said Hannah, sitting next to him. "They are trying to build a new life, a different life."

"Did you see what happened to that woman? There's no difference here, it's just an illusion. These people have just traded empty towns and woods with concrete hallways and shanty houses. Sooner or later the walkers come. They always come."

Hannah began crying. "You're wrong," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I think they can make a difference. What else are we supposed to do Joel? Surviving isn't enough. Not for me. I have to survive for something, for some kind of life."

"Hannah, I'm sorry. I—"

"No," she said standing up. "I've decided to stay if the Captain will let me. I think I could help these people with growing their food. If it's one thing I can do, it's to help other people and maybe help build something bigger than myself. I just don't see any other option."

"And if I go?"

"Then I will be the one who's sorry. But I won't go with you."

Joel didn't know what he wanted. Hannah was the only person he had any attachment to in this world and if he lost her he wasn't sure if he could make it. He couldn't ignore what had happened to that woman and he imagined Hannah, lying in a pool of her own blood, walkers feasting on her organs. No, he thought. If she is going to stay, then he had no choice but to stay as well, if only to protect her against the delusions of these people.

Strauss walked up to them and looked at Joel. "The Captain would like to see you."

Joel stood up and shot a glance at Hannah and then back to Strauss. "Good, I think I would like to see him as well." Joel and Strauss walked away toward the private area. If Joel was going to protect Hannah, he would start at the top.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter done, I went through a bit of an illness and it had me laid up for a few days but I think I'm back on the mend! Big shoutout to Kwiff for the wonderful review and follow! Thanks! Also thanks to Nameless Wildflower for once again reviewing each chapter, you rock! Get ready for Chapter 8 coming soon! - JB**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Strauss and Joel crossed the hallway marked with yellow paint. Their footsteps echoed off the concrete walls as they ascended two flights of stairs. They were high above the ground level of Haven now and Joel caught glimpses of the field through a few broken windows. All the rooms up here used to be press boxes and announcers areas, carpeted and protected for the staff and those who could afford the good seats.

Joel thought he caught a glimpse of Hannah, still mingling with people far below him. He couldn't be sure from this distance, though. They walked past a dozen doors before arriving at the last one at the end of the hall.

Strauss knocked on the door.

A muffled voice said, "Come in."

This was the largest room Joel had seen inside a stadium before. He didn't even know what it was for but it had two large windows overlooking the grounds and was large enough for a desk, a couch and there was another doorway leading to a separate room. Joel thought maybe it was a private bathroom.

The Captain had two lamps in the room and the feeling of carpet under his feet was strange. There was a large wooden desk in the middle of the room covered in papers and a long leather couch that was torn in multiple spots. The walls were adorned with paintings and there were multiple bookshelves full of books on either side of the doorway. It looked like a cross between an office and a living room and it smelled slightly stagnant.

The Captain rose from his chair when they entered the room. He was wearing a button-down shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, black pants and no shoes. He was also now wearing glasses.

"Thank you, lieutenant," he said as Strauss gave him a nod and closed the door on his way out.

"Joel, right?" said the Captain.

"Yeah."

"Have a seat," he said. There were two smaller chairs in front of his desk and Joel couldn't escape the feeling of being at a job interview. The Captain leaned back in his chair. "You ever been in the Navy, Joel?"

Joel shook his head. "No," he said. "I was going to after college but let's just say my life took a different path."

"I see. Well, let me tell you before all of this I lived in Louisiana, in a little town called Larose, just outside of New Orleans. A few years before the outbreak, they commissioned a ship to be built at the Avondale shipyard. I'd take my son to go fishing and every time we did, we saw the ship grow larger and larger. They finished that beautiful ship just before the world went to hell."

Joel sat in silence.

"The name of that ship," said the Captain "was the USS New York. Do you know why it was called that? It's because the steel that was used to build that amazing ship was taken from the mangled remains of the World Trade Center, reformed and repurposed to be something wonderful and new. Out of the ashes of destruction rose the dream of a better life. That's what Haven is, Joel. It's a new and glorious future rising from the ashes of a destroyed world."

Joel stared at the man. "Oh yeah?" he said. "Did you give that same speech to the woman that was killed today or didn't you notice you had lost one of your own?"

The Captain's demeanor changed. His brow furrowed and the wrinkles on his forehead deepened. "The loss was unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" Joel said. "It was a whole hell-of-a-lot more than unfortunate."

"There are no words to adequately describe the loss of an innocent human life, Joel. Did you know that in the 1930's, over a hundred men lost their lives building the Hoover Dam? In the end it was one of the world's most remarkable wonders, unsurpassed in its architectural advances and scope. I would never wish for anyone to lose their lives, but one understands that monumental progress and achievement comes with a cost."

"You're their leader. You're the one they look to for safety and hope and security. That woman shouldn't have died."

"What could I have done to prevent it?"

Joel was flustered. "I don't know. Do more patrols, more rounds, get more guards, something. At least do daily checks of your entrances to make sure they're still secure!"

"You know what? I fully agree with you," he said, leaning forward and placing his arms on the desk. "Which is why we need you."

"You need a lot more than me." Joel didn't like the way this conversation was going.

"Also true," said the Captain. "but I spoke with Lieutenant Strauss and he told me what you did out there today. Normally I ask people about their skills and talents but for the first time I don't need to. You showed tremendous bravery and ingenuity and it's people with those qualities that are desperately needed here."

"I didn't do it for you." _I did it for Hannah_, he thought.

The Captain smiled, recognizing the look on Joel's face. "Ah yes, the girl."

"Her name's Hannah."

"Yes, Hannah. I don't know of her qualifications, but I would be willing to accept her if you'd like, on the condition of you staying. Every man needs a partner."

Accept her? Joel didn't like thinking of her as an object passing inspection, or as a bonus for him to stay in Haven. If anything, he should be allowed to stay if she wanted him too. "She's worth ten of me and if you knew her, you'd understand."

"I see. Well, if that's true then we are fortuitous indeed to have you both."

Joel remembered Jessie, and how Hannah had said he was taken by guards to see the Captain. "We came here with another man, Jessie. He was taken to see you this morning. Where is he?"

"I'm afraid your friend has left."

"Left? What do mean left? The last time we saw him he was incoherent, babbling about Old Testament monsters."

"Oh, he was quite coherent when I met with him. You see, when Strauss returned with the three of you, he informed me of this Terminus place and I was naturally curious about another settlement and how we might be able to get in contact with them. Unfortunately, he refused to speak of it, only demanding to leave Haven and return to Terminus."

"And you just let him leave? By himself?"

"I told you when we first met that this is not a prison, Joel. Your friend requested to leave, and I gave him supplies, a weapon and had my men drive him to a safe location, close to the railroad tracks that would lead him home. Jessie had a home, Joel, someplace he needed to get back to. This could be that place for both you and Hannah."

Joel wondered why Jessie hadn't said goodbye or why he was incoherent the night before. 'Leviathan' was what he kept repeating. They had only known each other a short while and he did say he had to do God's work. Joel figured he had a higher calling and it wasn't here. Now it was just him and Hannah. She was more accepting of everyone and Joel knew that could get her killed.

"We'll stay," said Joel. "But understand that I'll be watching out for Hannah and if anything happens to her…"

"There's no need for threats. We take security very seriously here in Haven and she will be safe here."

"Like Laura?"

"There _is _safety here, despite what you believe, but there are rules that everyone must follow. It is the inevitable pact all societies must make to remain civilized. If you stay, I expect you will respect our rules."

"I will follow your rules up until the point where I feel our safety is being compromised and then I promise you your rules will mean absolutely shit to me, do I make myself clear?"

"I think," said the Captain. "We have an understanding."

Joel stood up and stared down at the man. "I hope we do." He walked out the door, still wondering how he would fit into a place like Haven, but he knew he would be keeping a close eye on the Captain and an even closer eye on Hannah.

* * *

**A/N: Sickness is past and we are back on track! Thanks once again to everyone who gave me a review, including Kwiff and Nameless Wildflower! You're the best! Stay tuned for Chapter 9!**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Hannah watched as Joel and Strauss left to meet with the Captain. She put on a smile for anyone who looked at her, but for some reason she felt alone. With Jessie gone it was just the two of them and she hadn't gotten to know anyone here yet, even though they all seemed like nice people.

She remembered her old life, when she would entertain her friends and co-workers at her apartment, complete with wine and beer and those little cracker plates with the foreign cheeses. She was able to her friends and they all shared similar goals of careers or climbing social ladders. Now a heartbeat and the lack of homicidal tendencies were good enough for her.

She walked around the edge of the grounds, noticing the patches of deciduous grasses and studying the tall fence surrounding the portion of the field they were using to grow food. It took up most of the grounds and some of the fence had been extended, she assumed because they needed to grow more food.

She walked up to the fence to take a closer look. Just as the reverend had said, there were rows of corn on one end, rows of potatoes and some species of cabbage along the edges. Running from one side of the fence to another were long pipes with holes in the bottom and she traced the path with her eyes until she saw a hose snaking its way up toward the roof of the stadium.

"People aren't usually allowed to play on the fence, dearie," said an old man from within the fence. He wore thick glasses and his clothes were caked with dirt. He had a good amount of grey stubble covering his face and he squinted at her.

"Oh," said Hannah. "Sorry I didn't know."

"Course you didn't. That's why I didn't cuss at ya like I do the little ones. They're always playing tag or hide and whatever, but always climbing on my fence." He mumbled something else under his breath but Hannah couldn't make it out.

"Well, kids will be kids I suppose," said Hannah.

The man reached down and threw a hunk of dirt and some weeds into a rusty wheelbarrow. "Suppose so," he said. "I'm Leonard Macintyre, by the way."

"I'm Hannah, nice to meet you Leonard," she said, smiling.

"You can call me Leo."

"Alright, Leo. So you take care of the crops?"

"Yep," he said. "I know every leaf of every plant in here. Without these plants, we aint got no food."

"Are those pipes some kind of irrigation system?"

"Yep. At first we were watering them by hand, back when we had less people around here, but then we expanded the field and it was takin' too long. So we built some large rain collectors up on the roof and they all drain down here into these pipes." He tapped one of the pipes with a shovel. A sprinkle of dirt landed on top of his head. Hannah giggled.

"Oh it's alright," he said. "I think by now I'm probably more dirt than skin anyways."

Hannah smiled. "Sometimes I prefer dirt to people anyways."

"Oh don't tell him that," Chrissie said. "You'll never get rid of him." Hannah didn't even notice Chrissie had walked up behind her. She was happy to see her.

"He seems harmless enough," Hannah said.

"Only thing sure to keep him at arm's length is a bar of soap," said Chrissie. Both girls laughed.

Leo tossed his shovel into the wheelbarrow. "Aint nothing bad ever came from dirt, unlike people. Dirt aint never turned into any monsters and killed people and that's the truth. I think you understand what I'm saying, Hannah. Don't let Christie put wrong thoughts in your head. It was nice meeting you." He pushed the wheelbarrow down the dirt path and disappeared between rows of corn.

Chrissie laughed. "Did you touch his fence?"

"Yes! Apparently I wasn't supposed to."

"Yeah," Chrissie said. "He's weird about it. Even when I go in there he watches me like a hawk. He's very protective of the crops, but I guess that's a good thing. We didn't always have a fence but Haven grew and more people needed to eat. The field was smaller back then and when some of the crops began to disappear during the night, we decided it needed protection."

"You mean people were stealing food? Why?"

"We didn't have much. We tried our best to give everyone enough food, but it wasn't enough most days. Empty bellies don't tend to make honest people. Now thanks to the food blacks, everyone gets the same." They walked around the field as the sun disappeared behind the stands. "So what did you mean about the dirt?"

Hannah told her all about her parents and the farm and her love for growing things. Chrissie had grown up near the ocean and preferred the beach to a field of corn.

"I've never been to the ocean," Hannah said.

"Never?"

"Nope, we were going to go to Myrtle Beach for vacation, but there was a large storm that dropped a tree on our barn and that was the end of that."

"Well, maybe someday you will. Do you wanna go in?"

"In where?" Hannah said.

"Inside the fence! I have something I want to show you."

"Are we allowed? Isn't there a guard by the gate?"

"Don't worry about it. Let's go," Chrissie said as she grabbed Hannah's hand and pulled her along the path to the front gate. Her hands were soft and they reminded Hannah of her mother's hands. Chrissie's blonde hair fluttered behind her as she ran, and she looked back at Hannah and smiled. They turned the corner and stood in front of the guard, who was a small Hispanic man.

"Hey Carlos!" said Chrissie. "I'm gonna show Hannah around the field."

Even though Carlos smiled when he saw Chrissie, he didn't move. "I'm sorry Chrissie. I'm not supposed to let anyone in that isn't approved by the Captain."

"I'm approving her," Chrissie said. "Now let us in."

"If the Captain finds out I let her in, I'll be on hunting duty for a month. You're killing me, chica."

Chrissie's tone softened. "Don't worry Carlos, we'll be in and out and nobody will be put on hunting duty, I promise."

Carlos sighed. "Fine, go ahead. But I'm not covering for you."

"Thank you!" Chrissie said, kissing Carlos on the cheek. "You're the best."

"Uh-huh," he said, unlocking the gate and pulling it open.

Hannah watched as Chrissie walked through the rows of crops. She looked like a completely different person than when she was in the medical facility. When she saw her the other night she looked tired and run-down, looked like she had the world on her shoulders, but seeing her here, running through the rows of green plants with the beams of sunlight playing with her hair, Hannah thought she looked free. Hannah couldn't help but smile when she watched her.

"Over here," Chrissie said, ducking under some low-hanging pipes next to a row of cabbages. "See?"

Hannah saw a ten foot by ten foot square of green, fuzzy plants. Chrissie was watching her with a smile on her face.

Hannah bent down and touched the fuzzy leaves. "Is this sage?" she said.

"Yes, you do know your plants! What do you think?"

"How did you manage to get wild sage? This is a European species. Chrissie, this is amazing."

"I know, right? About a year ago, someone showed up in Haven with a bag of seeds he had grabbed from a gardening store near Augusta and one of those packets had these!"

"I remember when I was in college, one of my professors always talked about sage as the magical herb that could do everything and anything." Hannah had pulled a lock of her hair over her upper lip and did an impression of an old man.

Chrissie laughed. "It doesn't do everything, but it's good for inflammation or reducing a fever. It's nature's cure-all. I've been taking the leaves and making a syrup out of it. It takes God-awful but it does the trick."

"I also heard it can keep your hair from turning grey."

"Really?" Chrissie said.

"I don't know," said Hannah. "I'll try it and let you know!"

They both laughed and Chrissie stared at down at the dirt. Her smile faded away. "I know it may not look like it, but I'm doing the best I can."

"I know you are Chrissie, don't worry about it. I've traveled to around to different camps and towns and no one has anything like you. You are one of a kind."

"Yeah?"

"Absolutely."

"You're so nice," Chrissie said. "I'm glad you're here. Joel is a lucky guy."

"Thanks," Hannah said. "but Joel and I aren't like, a thing or anything." Hannah tried not to sound like a school girl, but failed completely. "When our group was split by a pack of walkers, we went one way and everyone else went another. We never saw any of them again. He's great but we're just really good friends and even though I trust him with my life, he's not really my type."

"Why not?"

"It's been a long time since I've given any thought to relationships. Every day has been just about surviving. Every day my only thought was 'Will I live through another day?' and everything about a normal life just kind of took a backseat." Hannah drew funny-looking stick figures in the dirt. "Besides, if you don't love people, then it doesn't hurt so much when you lose them." Hannah tried to hold back the tears, hoping Chrissie wouldn't notice.

Chrissie grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's alright," she said, composing herself. "I had met Tess in my last year of college. She was studying to become a marine biologist and one day she asked me out. Eight months later we were living together when the outbreak hit. She was always the strong one right from the beginning, telling me it was going to blow over and that everything would be fine. The first thing we did was try to get out of the city and into the less populated areas. Her parents lived near Jacksonville and we were going to try to make it there. She kept calling it a 'road trip' and she would talk about all the places we would see." Hannah laughed and wiped the wetness from her eyes. "We never even made it to Florida. The roads were impassable and people were just going crazy. We stayed with a large camp before that was overrun, too. They were coming from every direction and we had nowhere to run."

"What happened?"

"She gave me a kiss and told me everything was going to be fine, that she was going to draw them away and that I should run. She said she would meet up with me near the highway. I was alone on the highway for five days before another group found me. They said I was almost dead from dehydration and lack of food but I still went kicking and screaming. I never saw her again."

"That's horrible. Hannah, I am so sorry."

"After that I just shut down my emotions and tried to be the strong one. I wasn't quite sure why I was surviving but something told me I had to." She looked at Chrissie. "And then I was brought here and there are crops and food and laughing and children and Leo and you. All of a sudden I have to figure out what else I want to do with my life."

"Have you told Joel all of this?"

"No," Hannah said. "You're the first."

"Well then," Chrissie said, standing up and brushing the dirt from her shorts. "I guess we better get started then."

"Get started with what?"

"Living," Chrissie said.

Hannah smiled and they walked toward the dirt path leading to the gate. They joked and laughed and talked about plants and herbs and holistic medicines. Hannah felt comfortable with Chrissie and hoped that Joel's meeting with the Captain had gone well and he would come back with good news. The Captain was standing in front of the gate when they arrived. His face was stern.

"Christie," he said. "What is she doing in here? You know the rules."

"I know," said Chrissie.

Hannah jumped in. "It wasn't her fault, she was just showing me some things. I promise I didn't do anything wrong. She didn't either."

"Hannah," he said. "As I explained to your friend Joel, Haven has rules and they are there for a reason. We do not break them. We live in a world where rules and walls are the only things that separate us from the walkers. I'll excuse it this time, but you will find I am not always so lenient." He looked at Chrissie, who was staring at the ground. "I'm disappointed in you Christie."

Hannah didn't want this man ruining their evening. "Come on Chrissie, let's get out of here." They walked toward the other side of the field and Chrissie was quiet. "I mean come on!" Hannah said. "I know he's the big bad leader around here but who the hell does he think he is, talking to you like that?"

"He's my father," Chrissie said.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Special thanks to Nameless Wildflower! Watch out for Chapter 10! - JB**


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